Pubdate: Wed, 18 Feb 2015 Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON) Copyright: 2015 The Hamilton Spectator Contact: http://www.thespec.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181 Author: Nicole O'Reilly Page: A1 Exclusive: Inmates are overdosing: Who's watching? PROVINCE DOES NOT TRACK CORRECTIONS CENTRE OVERDOSES The province is not tracking how many inmates are overdosing in jails across Ontario. The government has no central database of this information, despite drugs being such a concern that the regional coroner is planning an inquest that will examine the overdose deaths of four inmates at the Barton Street jail. Non-fatal overdoses are seen by experts as a way to gauge the drug problem and predict drug deaths and violence. Federally, Correctional Service Canada tracks overdoses and other major incidents inside prisons. But in Ontario, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services does not track this data, including for the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre. The regional coroner is expected to call the joint inquest later this year. Another inmate, whom jail sources identified as Stephen Neeson, died Sunday of a possible overdose. It's not yet clear whether his death will also be included in the inquest. In response to a Freedom of Information request seeking overdose statistics at the jail, the ministry said it couldn't provide them because they don't exist. That information is "not tracked in a central database," the response reads. It's only found in an inmate's personal health files. The ministry would need to do an "extensive manual search" of each inmate's health file, the letter says. They would also need to track down the medical files of inmates moved to other institutions because personal files transfer with inmates. The ministry, however, contends it has a good handle on drugs inside the jail, because it tracks incidents where contraband, including drugs, is seized. These "statistics are an important tool for the local f acilities which assist with tracking the trends of contraband and determining what efforts need to be made to reduce and eliminate contraband where possible," spokesperson Brent Ross said i n an email. He added that the ministry "works very hard to remove and stop contraband from coming into our correctional facilities." Security tools include performing regular searches, use of the BOSS (body orifice security scanner) chairs that detect metal, hand-held metal detectors and access todrug-sniffing dogs, Ross said. Recently, nearly $780,000 was spent upgrading security, including netting and cameras, at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre. As Canada's Correctional Investigator, Howard Sapers has access to daily reports from Correctional Service Canada detailing major incidents that happened in prisons the day before, including overdoses. His office has a mandate to investigate incidents of serious bodily harm and death. These investigations are separate from any internal corrections, police or coroner investigations. "If the goal is to find a weakness in the system, you have to understand the causes," Sapers said. The daily situation reports are very useful, he said, because they give a snapshot of what's happening across the country. "It also then begins to give you trends and patterns, so you can begin to see if you have problems building up in one institution, region or one correctional issue." Overdose deaths are tracked provincially through coroner's inquests. Since 2010, officially there have been four inmate overdose deaths in Ontario jails - but that number only reflects cases where an inquest has already been heard, a process that typically takes at least a year. Between 2003 and 2013, 536 inmates at federal prisons died - 3.7 per cent, or about 20 were from overdoses, according to the Office of the Correctional Investigator annual reports. Those reports also track what are called "overdoses interrupted" - meaning overdoses where medical intervention saved the person's life. In the 2010-2011, prisons had a high of 53 interrupted overdoses. That number has decreased significantly in subsequent years, with 11 cases in 2011-2012, 17 in 2012-2013 and nine in 2013-2014. The province knows there is a problem, but doesn't seem to want to acknowledge just how bad things have become, says OPSEU corrections division chair Monte Vieselmeyer. Drugs in jails make things unsafe for inmates and correctional officers, he said, adding that inmate-on-inmate assaults and assaults on staff are "through the roof." Knowing how frequently inmates are overdosing and whether there are any trends to those overdoses is vital information to fighting drugs in the jails, Vieselmeyer said. "I think for the front line officer it's very important, helps us more accurately supervise the inmates," he said. Vieselmeyer would like to see full body scanners, like those used in some U.S. jails, i n Ontario. These scanners would detect drugs and other contraband hidden in body orifices that is not picked up by existing security. This technology was approved for pilot site at the Toronto South Detention Centre, but the jail is still waiting for it to be installed, he said. "Our current tools are not very accurate," he said. The Toronto superjail is also the site of another suspected overdose death this past weekend. Drugs inside jails is a "very frustrating topic for correctional officers," said Stephen Smith, a Barton correctional officer and OPSEU Local 248 president. He accuses the ministry of "turning a blind eye," to the extent of the problem. He echoed the call for better technology. "At any point, or any time of day, you can go to any area inside the inmate populated areas, and the smell of drugs will be prevalent and the inmates will be intoxicated," he said. April Tykoliz, the sister of Marty Tykoliz, whose May 3, 2014, death sparked the pending joint inquest, says she just wants to make sure this doesn't happen again. She believes the system that allowed her brother to die is negligent. "We need change because nobody is taking responsibility," she said. - --------------------------------------------------- BARTON STREET JAIL INMATE DEATHS The deaths of four Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre inmates will be part of a rare joint inquest examining drugs in the jail. It's not yet clear if the death of Stephen Neeson, who died of a possible overdose Sunday, will be included. Name: Marty Tykoliz Age: 38 Died: May 6, 2014 Tykoliz was one of three inmates taken to hospital with overdose symptoms the night before, but was returned to jail hours later and then found unconscious in his cell in the morning. Name: Trevor Burke Age: 38 Died: March 25, 2014 Burke died from a blood infection that began in drug tract wounds. Name: Louis Unelli Age: 41 Died: March 16, 2012 An inquest into Unelli's death was put on hold last year, to be included in the joint inquest. Name: William Acheson Age: 42 Died: Sept. 12, 2012 - --- MAP posted-by: Matt